Elevator-cab construction



April l, 1930.

C. C. CAMPBELL ELEVATR CAB CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 8, 1928 Chili, C. cmu/'Jil INVENTOQ ATr'oRNEY Patented Apr. 1, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHESTER C. CAMPBELL, OF WEST ORANGE, NEVI JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION F NEW JERSEY ELEVATOR-CAB .CONSTRUCTION Application led August 8, 1928. Serial No. 298,360.

This invention relates to panel wall construction of elevator car enclosures.

Elevator cabs are now commonly constructed with highly finished and comparatively expensive panel walls. In the use of these cabs, it has been found that the bottom six or eight inches of the panels are very soon scratched and scarred by the feet of the passengers, while the remaining portions of the panels remain comparatively unscarred.

One feature of this invention is the provision of an elevator cab structure in which the portions of the cab struct-ure most likely to be damaged are easily removable for refinishing and repair without affecting the service from the elevator.

A second feature of this invention is the provision of an elevator cab with panel sides having horizontal plates along their lower faces adjacent the floors, which plates, hereinafter called kick plates, are removable without disturbing the cab assembly, or without impairing the safety of the car so that the car may be continued in service.

Other features and advantages will become apparent from the specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein one embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of a full-widthopening elevator cab embodying this invention- Figure 2 is a section of the cab taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged section of the cab panel talren along the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4; is an enlarged section of the cabpanel taken along the line 4 4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the panel and column structure taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 2, with the kick plate removed, and with the top portion of the panel and column structure broken olf to illustrate details thereof; and

Figure 6 is an enlargement of the corner column details as shown in Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, the cab structure is shown as formed of vertical sheet metal panels 10 which are fitted against and bolted to the columns 11. The cab structure rests on the elevator car platform 12, to which the panels are secured by angle bars 13 and screws 1/1. Above the top of the panels are mounted grille sections 15 made in any suitable design. Over the whole cab enclosure there is a top 16 with a softit plate 17 which rests on the top of columns 11 and grille sections 15. Tie rods 18 run through the columns and project at their upper ends through the soifit plate and at their lower ends through the platform. Nuts 19 are threaded on the projecting portions of the tie rods, thus securing the top, the vertical panels, the grille sections, the columns and the platform all together as a strong united enclosure.

For architectural as well as mechanical reasons, bars 2O are welded to the surface of each panel near the sides and top edges thereof, and bars 21 are welded to the surface of the panel parallel to the bottom edge, but at some appropriate distance, such as sin or eight inches, from the bottom edge. For similar reasons, molding 22 of bar material is welded to the panel at some distance within the area bounded by bars 2O and 21.

Along the lower faces of the panels there are secured removable kick plates 23. These are made of any suitable material, such as sheet steel, and are attached directly to the panel faces and in front thereof by means of dat-headed machine screw Ys 24: which screw into tapped blocks 25 secured to the panels, as by welding. The bottom edges of the kick plates rest on the car platform and bear againstthe columns. The top of the kick plates are bent at an angle to the planes of the front surfaces of the kick plates, and extend for a short distance as shown at 26. The edges 27 thereof abut the panel walls just below the bars 21. In order to permit the use of a single kick plate on a cab side, the non-corner columns are notched or cut away as shown at 28, and the corner columns are notched or cut away as at 29. This construction is clearly shown in Figures B, 4 and 6, and also in Figure 5 in which the kick plates have been removed. The columns adjacent the cab opening are only partially notchedand the kick plates fitting therein extend across the face of these columns only to the saine eXtent as the notches therein so that the vertical faces of these columns which are visible at the cab opening are smooth and unnotched. At the corners where two kick plates meet, the surfaces 26 and the vertical edges of the kick plates are beveled as at BO which provides, in addition to a neat appearance, a mutual locking arrangement to prevent the ends of the kick plates from flying out. IVith this construction, therefore, in mounting the kick plates on the cab, there is first secured ,one which does not terminate at the cab opening, and then successively thereon secured the adjacent kick plates until the cab opening is reached. In the cab illustrated, the rear licl plate is first secured and then the two side kick plates attached. The reverse procedure is followed in removing the kick plates.

The panel walls and the columns, together with the kick plates, are highly finished in any suitable manner. It is apparent that this construction of the hiel; plates results in a pleasing panel effect, in addition to accomplishing the utilitarian results desired.

lVhen the bottom of the cab walls becomes scarred, the several machine screws Zit are taken out and the lriclr plates removed, all of which is a simple operation. The cab structure remaining is intact and untouched so that the elevator car need not be withdrawn from service. Further, the appearance of the panels is not unsightly when the kick plates are removed, as the onlyT distracting features are the small blocks 25 and the notches 28 and 29 in the columns.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. An elevator cab comprising a wall, a strip fastened on the face thereof parallel to the bottom edge and spaced therefrom, and a plate with a lip portion bent at an angle to the face of the plate secured over the bottom portion of the face of the wall between the bottom edge of the wall and said strip, said lip portion abutting the face of the wall just below the metal strip.

2. An elevator cab comprising a pair of spaced vertical posts, a panel section mounted between said posts and set back from the plane of the faces of said posts, a kick plate with a lip portion bent at an angle to the face of the plate secured over the bottom portion of the face of said panel section, said lip portion abutting the face of said panel section. and said posts being notched to accommodate said lip portion.

3. An elevator cab side comprising a plurality of spaced vertical posts, panel sections mounted between adjacent posts and set back from the planes of the faces of adjacent posts, and a plate with a lip portion bent at an angle to the face of the plate secured over the bottom portions of the faces of the panel sections, said lip portion abutting the face of each panel section, the bottom edge of said plate bearing against the faces of the posts, and said posts being notched to accommodate said lip portion.

Ll. An elevator cab comprising a plurality of spaced vertical posts arranged to outline sides of said cab and with one of said posts positioned at each corner formed by said sides, panel sections mounted between adjacent posts and set back from the planes of the faces of adjacent posts, and kick plates with lip portions bent at an angle to the faces of the plates secured over the bottom portions of the faces of the panel sections, said lip portions abutting the faces of said panels and being beveled ofi' at each corner formed by said cab sides, and said posts, including said corner-positioned posts, being notched to accommodate said lip portions.

5. An elevator cab comprising a plurality of spaced vertical posts arranged to outline sides of said cab, panel sections mounted between adjacent posts and set back from the planes of the faces of adjacent posts, and a single licl plate for each of said cab sides, each plate having a lip portion bent at right angles to the face of the plate, each plate be-y ing secured over the bottom portions of the faces of the panel sections of the corresponding cab side, and said posts being notched to accommodate said lip portions.

6. An elevator car enclosure with a plurality of sides, each side comprising; a plurality of vertical corner posts and one or more vertical intermediate posts, panel sections mounted between adjacent vertical posts and extending upwardly from the car platform, said panel sections being recessed from the plane between the inwardly exposed surfaces of adjacent vertical posts, a single plate with a lip portion bent at a right angle to the face of the plate removably secured along the bottoms of the interior faces of said panel sections, said lip portion abutting said interior faces of said panel sections, said intermediate vertical posts being notched across their width to accommodate said lip portion, and said corner posts being notched partly across their width to accommodate the ends of said lip portions.

In testimony whereof, I have signed mv name to this specification. l

CHESTER C. CAMPBELL, 

